The Name of the Doctor: The Aftermath
by Goddess of the Zodiac
Summary: An epilogue to the Name of the Doctor. What happened when the Doctor, Clara and the others got off of Trenzalore?
1. Chapter 1: Safe

**Chapter One: Safe**

Blinding white light explodes from the center of the Doctor's "corpse". Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax shield their eyes, until the light dies down. The Doctor has emerged from his time stream, carrying unconscious Clara in his arms.  
"Doctor! You made it back!" Madame Vastra exclaims, but the Time Lord is too distracted to hear her as he drops to his knees and cradles his Impossible Girl.  
"Clara?" The Doctor asks softly, stroking her soft, warm cheek, hoping she will wake. But she remains unresponsive, so he plants a kiss on her forehead, and cradles her closer. "_My Clara_."  
"Is she alright?" asks Jenny, startling the Doctor; he hadn't realized that the trio has crossed over to him.  
"I need to get her back to the TARDIS," the Doctor asserts, putting his hands under Clara and effortlessly picking her back up as he stands. Without another word, they exit the Doctor's eventual grave and make their way across the graveyards of Trenzalore.

It is as though the TARDIS sees the five of them coming. The moment they are in sight her doors automatically open, as if saying _Yes, yes, come in, come in_. The Doctor, grateful, enters and hurries past the console and up the stairs, then takes a right, a left, and another left, reaching the Medical Bay. He immediately lies Clara down one of the tables, then goes in his purple jacket for his Sonic Screwdriver. He does a quick scan over Clara's body as Vastra, Jenny and Strax come in.  
"Well, Doctor?" asks Vastra.  
The Doctor takes a couple seconds to read the full diagnosis- _left ankle is twisted;_ _h__er neural pathways are overloaded... way too many lives swirling around in her mind, too many memories for one human brain to contain...  
_"She'll be fine," the Doctor says, unwilling go into the details. _I hope...  
_"She just needs rest."  
"Sir," Strax says, "permission to remark on how absolutely dreadful you look."  
"Strax!" Vastra scolds.  
"He really does look tired, Mam," Jenny replies, noting the weary look on the Doctor's face.  
"I'm fine," the Doctor says quickly, looking down at Clara so they can't see his face._  
_"You sure you don't want our help with anything?" asks Jenny. "I mean, Clara really should be washed up and changed into something more comfortable, and I don't think it would be appropriate for you to see her undressed."  
"Jenny has a point Doctor," Vastra says. And as much as the idea of being away from Clara for even a second-especially now- hurts him, the Doctor knows they are right.

He takes Clara into his arms once again, and exits the Medical Bay with the intent of taking her into his bedroom, but the TARDIS has different plans. He is walking through the corridors, but pauses when a large, black door with bright red Gallifreyan writing carved into its surface catches his eye. "What is it, Doctor?" asks Vastra, recognizing the carvings as Gallifreyan. "What does it say?"  
The Doctor can't help but smile and let out a chuckle. "It says... _Clara_."  
They enter the room, and it is absolutely beautiful. The walls are painted a deep red. There is a large bed outfitted with a red and black comforter and pillows of all sizes, with a matching lamp on the nightstand and matching curtains; Clara's book, 101 Places to See and her red purse are placed on the vanity mirror. There is a large black wardrobe and bathroom with the same black and red color scheme.  
"The TARDIS has made Clara a room," the Doctor says with amazement. _Thank you.  
_The Doctor lays Clara down on her bed, wishing she was awake to see her new room, to see that the TARDIS finally accepts her...The Doctor bends down and kisses Clara's forehead one more time. "I'll be back soon," he whispers. Reluctantly he walks towards the door, Jenny following close behind.  
"We'll take care of her, Doctor," Jenny says. "It won't take long, I promise."  
The Doctor nods and exits, and Jenny closes the door behind him. He leans back against the wall and slides down as he puts his hands over his face, his emotions beginning to spill from his eyes as he goes over in his mind the events of the last few hours.

He'd thought she was a trick, a trap. Accused her, even. He'd spent all these months wracking his brain, trying to figure out the enigma, the mystery, that was Clara Oswald... and this whole time, she was just an ordinary girl... no, more than an ordinary girl... _Brave. Clever. Funny, so funny. Beautiful. Perfect. Everything I need, more than I could ever even hope to deserve... and she could have died tonight because of me... she has died, over and over, because of me. _  
The thought of Clara's cold, lifeless body just laying somewhere, lost, in cold darkness, never seeing her smile or hearing her laugh again, or seeing the way her big warm brown eyes light up whenever he takes her somewhere new, just gone out of his life forever...  
The tears start to flow. His sobs seem to echo through the TARDIS halls, but he can't even care right now. He will probably lose his Impossible Girl now anyway. _After she wakes up, remembers what's happened, realizes what a monster I am, she'll want nothing to do with me..._  
"Um...sir?"  
The Doctor looks up to see a very uncomfortable looking Strax.  
"How long until we can get off this dreadful planet? I've got a sparring match I'd like to get back to."  
"Oh-right!" The Doctor says, wiping his eyes and springing to his feet. He runs to the console room, only to remember that the TARDIS had shut itself down because she couldn't stand the fact that the Doctor was going back into his own timeline. She'd managed the power to open her doors for them and make Clara's bedroom..._The Old Girl knows Clara introduced us now, _the Doctor thinks, which puts a much needed smile on his face. He gets his Sonic out again and points it at the console, giving it some power but very limited. He would have to land the TARDIS somewhere it could get recharged. After flipping the necessary switches and pushing the necessary buttons, the TARDIS takes off quickly, as if running away from Trenzalore. _Can't blame you, _thinks the Doctor.

Now there is nothing to do but wait. The Doctor takes off his purple jacket, and even his bow tie, and throws them over his chair before he sits down. Soon his eyes are closed and he drifts into a light state of sleep before finally, Strax's voice stirs him.  
"Doctor?"  
The Doctor sits up and looks at the Sontaran, slightly irritated about being woken.  
"Madame Vastra told me to tell you that the girl is cleaned up now-"  
The Doctor rushes out, up the stairs.  
The faint scent of body wash lingers in the air as he enter's Clara's room. Vastra and Jenny are on their way out.  
"We'll leave you two alone now," Jenny says as she passes the Doctor. He nods, and closes the door behind them. Clara is under the covers, her face noticeably cleaner, her hair neatly brushed. Still unconcious, though. He sits down on the bed, and takes Clara's hand into his. He puts it to his lips, leaving it there for a good 3 seconds, before putting it to his face.  
_"Clara," _the Doctor whispers.  
Suddenly, Clara's eyebrows knit together, and her eyes squeezing closed.  
_"No,"_ she gasps suddenly, her breathing becoming frantic, "_No, no..."  
_"Clara? Clara!"  
The Doctor puts his hands on her face as tears begin to flow from her eyes. Her large brown eyes pop open, watery with tears.  
"Doctor," she breathes. "I-I can't take it-"  
"Take what, Clara? What can't you take?-"  
"I'm dying," she gasps."I'm dying, over and over-I can feel them, I can feel each one, I remember them, I can remember them all, all at once...I-"  
"Okay, okay," The Doctor says, trying to comfort her. There was only one thing he could think to do to relieve her of all this trauma.  
"Clara, I'm going to repress your memories."  
"Repress?" Clara asks, her voice small and shaking. The Doctor puts his hands on either side of Clara's head.  
"You mean, make me forget? I don't want to forget _you_ Doctor, any of you..."  
"You won't forget me," The Doctor says. "I promise."  
He puts his head to Clara's, and relieves her mind of all the memories of her other selves, leaving her intact. When he is done, Clara looks up at him.  
"Doctor?"  
"Yes, Clara?"


	2. Chapter 2: So Secret, But So Obvious

She looks confused for a moment, then starts to wipe her eyes again. "Why was I crying?" "It doesn't matter," the Doctor whispers, taking Clara into his arms. "You're safe now."

**This chapter's a bit short, but I feel the title speaks for itself. Hope you guys like it. :)**

**Chapter Two: So, Secret But So Obvious**

Clara wakes to the scent of something she can't quite identify, but it smells delicious none the less. She slowly sits up, realizing the sound of singing coming from down the hall, and a smile spreads across her face. _The Doctor._ Then everything that happened on Trenzalore starts to come into play in her mind. Jumping into the Doctor's time stream, feeling herself break into a million pieces, risking her own existence... _  
I don't regret a single thing.  
_The large bouquet of red roses sitting on her nightstand catches her eye, and her smile grows even bigger. She looks around the rest of the room, still grasping the fact that the TARDIS has made her one-not just a room, her _dream_ room. _How did it know?_  
"Ahh, Clara!"

She turns to see the Doctor standing in her doorway, grinning as he holds a tray of food. "How do you feel?"  
"Mmm...still a bit tired, but I think I'll live." "Hungry?" The Doctor places the tray on Clara's lap. "Strawberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and orange juice." The Doctor looks proud.  
"Hmm," Clara says, picking up the knife and fork and trying the French toast.  
_"Wow," _she says, thoroughly amazed.  
"You made this?"  
"Of course," the Doctor says, straightening his bowtie.  
"Didn't I ever tell you I could cook?"  
"No," Clara says, diving into the eggs now.  
"How'd I never mention that I knew how to cook?"  
"Hmm..." Clara says, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Maybe because you were too busy talking about wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey Time Lord mumbo-jumbo."  
The Doctor chuckles, then gets serious.  
"How much do you remember about last night?" Clara looks at the Doctor, and nods. "Everything."  
They're quiet for a moment, then Clara continues. "Including how you never told me River was your wife."  
"River's gone now," he says quietly. "She was just an echo. It was time to say goodbye."  
"You okay?" Clara asks.  
The Doctor takes a moment before answering.

"Everything has to end sometime."  
They sit in silence for a moment, before Clara decides to go ahead and ask.  
"Doctor, why did you save me?"  
The Doctor looks at Clara.  
"You knew how dangerous it was to go into your own time stream, but you did it anyway. Why?"  
The Doctor places his hand on Clara's face.  
"Clara Oswald..." _I saved you because I love you.  
_"...I saved you because I can't stand to see someone else I care about die because of me. It's happened way too many times before, and I will _not_ let it happen again. But here's a better question...why did _you_ save _me_?" asks the Doctor. "River warned you what would happen if you did what you did . But you did that anyway."  
"The stars were disappearing from the sky," Clara says. "All the work you've done all your life was being undone. I knew I couldn't let that happen."  
_And because I love you..._


End file.
